Crest

I found these family crests in Siebmacher's Wappenbuche. The book, written in
German, is a multi-volume set covering Germany, Austria, Switzerland and much of
Eastern Europe.

The crest is everything which is above the shield. Usually a figure, it is
affixed to the helmet of every commander, so he is able to stand out in the
confusion of battle.

The crowns on the Beganyi crests are crowns of untitled nobility.

The mantle or mantling, gives prominence to the coat of arms and crest, and
represents the lambrequin, or covering of the helmet, to protect it from the sun
or rain. Most times it is of the principal colour and metal of the bearer's
arms.

Shield

There is some debate as to the meaning of the shape of the shield. Most
historians agree that the shape was usually determined by the time period and
geographic region. The shield was worn on the arm as protection. It also helped
the bearer to be recognized by his friends during battle. The shield is a much
more recognized symbol of a man or a family, much more so than the crest.

Colors

Gold is shown by yellow, silver is shown by white; in the black-and-white
drawings, gold is represented by white stippled with fine black dots, and silver
by plain white.

I guessed at some of the colors, such as the stag, one can only guess a stag
would be brown. In the descrptions, it says the mantling is gold with blue and
silver with red. In the black-and-white drawings the blue is represented by
horizontal lines. Two of the shields had the horizontal lines in them. I could
only guess they were also blue.

Translation

The German to English translation was done by Ulrike E. Lieder. He is a
professional translator who provides his services for a free online German
translation service. I thank him very much for his help.